I’m way, way overdue for my second blog.. I’m writing tonight from the passenger seat of my Nissan Maxima.. My Kiwi fiancé Jess is becoming a great American driver and I’m actually pretty relaxed now while she’s driving!! I believe we are somewhere near Gallup, New Mexico on our way to Flagstaff, Arizona.. We’ve just finished a whirlwind tour of the west (Colorado, Wyoming and Montana) with the fantastic Megan Burtt (meganburttmusic.com).. I’ll talk about those adventures in the next blog:)
So, where did I leave off? Okay, on July 18th Jess flew into Nashville International Airport..
We said goodbye to each other in Sydney Harbor on June 23rd and the 3 and a half weeks of separation that followed felt like an eternity to us. A month to the day after I said goodbye to Jess in Sydney, I played to a sold-out crowd in Nashville, TN at The Bluebird Café and proposed to her during the show. It was the most magical night of my life.
Here is a video of her engagement song, “Over The Sun We’ll Fly” recorded that night in Nashville.. Continue to watch the video after the song endsJ
My old publisher/Nashville dad Mark Alan Springer closed out the round with one of my favorite songs of all time, “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane” and dedicated it to Jess and I. I’ll never forget it.
What a great freakin’ way to start out our six month US tour!! We definitely started on a high note. Jess and I spent the next few days packing up my apartment and moving most of our worldly possessions into storage.. On July 30th we were packed up and ready to roll.. A few miles from my apartment in Bellevue we blew a tire (the first of many).
July 30th was our first day of being truly address-less! I have to say, it’s a liberating feeling.. sometimes a bit frightening but empowering nonetheless.. It’s so cool to have the option of going anywhere and doing anything on a moment’s notice.
The biggest negative about this lifestyle is certainly un-packing and re-packing the car.. Packing and un-packing got old REAL quick! The car has to be packed just right to have any visibility out of the rear window.. I don’t have a clue on how Jess does it.. It’s like an intense game of Tetris. Anyhow, she tells me where to put stuff and I listenJ Hopefully a touring vehicle is in the cards for me within the next year. Until then, the only place in the car for Jackson is on the passenger’s lap!! Ha
We’ve gotten so used to it I think we really enjoy having Jax on our laps now.. He’s a great cuddler and the car would feel empty without him..
Our first stop on our travels was Melbourne, Arkansas..
I have some dear friends there and they let Jess and I stay in their beautiful (and remote) log cabin. It was beautiful and right on a winding creek. The cabin was literally twenty minutes down a dirt and gravel road.. maybe the most remote place I’ve ever been.. so cool.
Cabin life was certainly an adjustment for a city girl like Jess.. The first night we discovered the wonders of “dry flies”.. huge, bat-like creatures that make awful shrieking noises and love to sneak indoors and terrorize you. Being the man of the cabin, I killed one of the evil banchees that first night and I remember the bug literally screaming.. like a blood-curdling horror movie scream.. I remember jumping out of my skin and screaming.. And then I know Jess started screaming after that. At one point there were three distinct screams ringing out in unison.. the fly, Jess and I.. After that night we settled in quite well and really loved the cabin.
After a day or two Jess even became accustomed to the multitude of stuffed critters that filled the cabin.. Two bears, five deer, one bobcat and two fish to be precise.. I just asked Jess for a body count and she rattled those figures off to me like it was yesterday..
Our Arkansas friends gave us the most wonderful week.. My great buddy Blane took us on a fishing trip on the beautiful White River with Bill Terry (which coincidentally was my Grandpa’s name).
Jess caught six fish that day before I caught my first.. She really enjoyed that.
My friends in Arkansas also introduced us to their pet deer Sophie, a sweet little girl who truly believes she is just one of the dogs.. incredible
We weren’t ready to leave Arkansas after a week.. We got on the road and played a couple shows in Kentucky and Illinois.. I had no idea but southern Illinois has a lovely wine trail.. We played an outdoor show at Rustle Hill Winery and had a blast.. Note Jackson enjoying the show as wellJ
From Rustle Hill we took off for four nights of camping in Asheville and Boone, North Carolina.. beautiful places.. I love the lifestyle in those places.. folks are all about outdoor sports, hiking up mountains, good music and good timesJ Can’t wait to tour through Carolina again.
Jess pitched her first tent in Asheville, NC and we had an epic campfire.. Jackson was terrified of sleeping outside but slowly adjusted.. somewhat.. he’d still prefer sleeping on a fleece blanket on a nice sofa any day.
We took the Blue Ridge Parkway to Boone, NC, camped there for a couple of nights and then made our way to Charlotte where we had a few days of shows planned.
My good buddy Jonathan (and groomsman) lives in Charlotte and we had the best week there. Can’t wait to be back. He lives in a beautiful place and I know Jess and I were so happy to be living in luxury after four nights of sleeping under the stars!
I think Jackson inspired Jonathan because before the week was up we found an awesome little Beagle mutt on Craig’s List and picked him up! That is one cute freakin’ pup..
We left Charlotte wishing we could stay longer.. but more shows and the northeast beckoned..
I was born and bred in CT, just outside of NYC, so this was a homecoming for me.. Most of my friends and family were around for our time in the northeast.. such a killer reunion.. We stayed with dear friends in Mamaroneck, NY for the majority of our three weeks in the area.. so grateful for true-blue friends.. Good to be home.
We spent a few days up at the Cape with some other great friends.. I’ve missed the Cape so much.. was wonderful to hike and cayak for a few days (and consume a ton of wine and cheese). The Cape, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket have always been my favorite places in New England..
I played some very memorable shows up north.. My mom has resurrected a community garden in my hometown (Chickahominy, my favorite part of Greenwich, CT) and I played an awesome concert there.. A Congressman came to check out the garden.. So proud of my mom and all of the gardeners and volunteers! Was so proud to be a part of that..
I played an awesome house concert with Marjory Lee at Merry and Lloyd’s place.. Merry is an amazing cook and I LOVE playing house concerts.. so cool.
I met my new friends Hadar and Lois at this particular house concert.. both amazing people and music fanatics.. Hadar is an avid music fan and writes a widely read blog.. Luckily, he enjoyed the show and had this to say about it:
The highlight of the northeast tour was playing the legendary Bitter End in NYC! What an awesome show.. The sound was so great I almost forgot that Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor have all graced that famous stage.. so cool..
Here are some of my favorite videos from that night at The Bitter End..
I’m so lucky to have Jess on the road with me.. All of these experiences would be so incredibly bland without her.. I think happiness has to be shared.
Seeing Jess experience Times Square for the first time was such a joy.. I love seeing her that happy and excited.. I think it’s her favorite place on earth.. or maybe a close second to New Zealand..
She has already helped my career so much.. taking beautiful photos and video for me.. handling the mailing list and meeting folks while I’m playing.. I’m so lucky.
We had a chance to visit the new Yankee’s stadium while we were in NY.. AMAZING.. I loved the old stadium but this one felt just as magical to me.. It feels like an older ballpark.
The east coast was awesome.. and life has been so killer.. not that we don’t face our hurdles.. we have huge immigration issues that we deal with on a daily basis.. and there is never enough time!! Between traveling, performing, wedding planning and life we are always so busy.. I’m just so freakin’ happy to not have a boss!! Being self employed can be a bit frightening but at least you are doing YOUR work.. suddenly working twelve hours in a day can feel joyful.
I’ll write soon about our cross-country trip and our tour out west with Megan Burtt.. Until then I hope to see you out on the road (or on facebook).
Peace,
Jesse
September 25th, 2010
Flagstaff, Arizona
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